-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The publication of a report into child abuse in the northern town of Rotherham , England has shocked Britain to the core .

The report , by Professor Alexis Jay , gives a `` conservative estimate '' of 1,400 children being sexually assaulted over a 16-year period . They were beaten , kidnapped , raped and trafficked . Some victims were as young as 11 .

How could it happen here , in a modern country that professes to care for the vulnerable ? The horrors in Rotherham first came to light in 2010 , when five men were jailed for sexual offenses against underage girls . A journalist 's investigation into the wider scale of abuse prompted the local council to conduct its own report -- and it 's the staggering numbers revealed in Jay 's findings that have caught the public 's attention .

Many of the headlines have focused on the racial makeup of the culprits , who were overwhelmingly Asian males . The report concludes that elected council officials were reluctant to talk directly to the Pakistani community about the problem and that some staff were frightened of being labeled `` racist '' for doing so .

All of which confirms the assertion from the British right wing that a climate of `` political correctness '' permitted the abuse to go on . It 's impossible not to infer that children could have been rescued had quaint notions of `` racial sensitivity '' been put aside . The inquiry heard that influential elected Pakistani councilors acted as `` barriers of communication . ''

But a focus on political correctness should not distract from the wider , institutional betrayal of children by police , social services and local politicians . The scale of which was staggering and the neglect sometimes willful . Professor Jay states that `` nobody could say ` we did n't know ' ''

The crimes were committed in the open . The report explained how the grooming of victims -LRB- from all racial backgrounds -RRB- occurred : `` Schools raised the alert over the years about children as young as 11 , 12 and 13 being picked up outside schools by cars and taxis , given presents and mobile phones and taken to meet large numbers of unknown males in Rotherham , other local towns and cities , and further afield . '' The girls often believed their rapists were boyfriends , men of relative wealth and sophistication , who gave them gifts and introduced them to others .

These crimes were often reported . Some police officers , according to Jay , treated the accusers with `` contempt . '' This was likely because they were children being held in care by the local authority , meaning that they were separated from their parents and typically living in homes provided by the taxpayers . Their claims were either disbelieved or the encounters possibly dismissed as typical behavior for someone of their social status .

On one occasion , a police officer said that a 12-year-old having sex with five adults should n't be categorized as sexual abuse because it was `` 100 % consensual in every incident '' -LRB- this advice was overruled -RRB- . I do n't need to spell out that British law sees things very differently .

When crimes were reported , cases were gathered and reports filed to the council 's staff and elected officials . The scale was such that they were often greeted with disbelief . Three summaries were written in total by justice officials . All three were largely ignored by the police and the council .

When the scandal first went public in 2010 , the leader of Rotherham 's children 's services resigned . Just two years later , the opposition Labour Party endorsed him for its candidate to be elected Police and Crime Commissioner for South Yorkshire . The leader of the party , Ed Miliband , posed with him in an election photo . He won the election and there are now demands -- including from Labour -- for him to resign . Thus far , he has refused .

It 's impossible to make sense of this story .

The barbarity is so enormous , so terrible . There is also the frightening possibility that those responsible for failing to defend the children will not see justice . The report does not name names and it 's likely that the social workers and council staff who were so obviously negligent have moved on to jobs in other areas , spreading their incompetence across the country .

While some observers wish to pin the problem on political correctness and others on under-funding , a more simple truth emerges . Individuals did not do their jobs . In some cases they looked the other way . And it 's just possible that they will get away with it . They are shielded by political self-delusion .

Rotherham council announced the report 's findings with the following assertion : `` Services to protect young people at risk from child sexual exploitation in Rotherham are stronger and better co-ordinated across agencies today than ever before , an independent review has found . ''

This is a stretch , to say the least . Professor Jay did indicate that services have improved at the council but added that it remains understaffed and the long-term victim support inadequate . Importantly , criminal convictions are still woefully low -- a continuing failure by the police .

Britain has a number of problems to face up to . One is a hidden history of child abuse , most dramatically brought to light by the revelations that the late children 's entertainer and radio host Jimmy Savile -LRB- a friend to the rich and powerful -RRB- used his position to exploit the vulnerable .

Another problem is that our public services can operate poorly and by their own standards . Our welfare state is generous and -- including in Rotherham -- boasts excellent staffs doing fantastic work . But it also employs , even provides cover for , individuals who are negligent .

A full public inquiry must be held into what happened in Rotherham , a scandal that repeats much of what has also happened in Rochdale , Derby and Oxford and which is almost certainly taking place today . That is the only effective way to expose those responsible , and to shed light on the Dickensian nightmare playing out in modern Britain .

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Tim Stanley : Report about sex abuse of 1,400 children shocked Britain . How could it happen ?

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He says some blame authorities ' PC reluctance to intervene ; offenders were Pakistani

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But he says blame , too , an institutional betrayal by police , social services and politicians

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Stanley : Britain must face hidden sex abuse , unpunished negligence . Inquiry must bring justice